Introduction

Hi, my name is Andrew Averkin and this is the making of my latest image, Spider. By reading this, you will hopefully uncover something on your own that will help you in your own 3D art creation, so I hope you'll enjoy reading about how I created this image.

I once had an idea to create a mechanical beetle, or any other insect, and then make an animation of it. I hadn't done any animation of mechanical devices before, let alone mechanical insects, but I thought it would be good training for me. So I began work not really thinking too much about which one insect I was going to build. During the process of design I saw that the insect looked a lot like a spider, and an imaginary picture came to me. It was at that point that I decided to continue work with the insect taking the form of a spider within an environment.

Reference

Clock details appeared in my mind. I needed pictures of spiders, different mechanical clocks, cogs, wheels, watch-maker's tools, and also images of an environment for a scene that would suit the image. I began searching for images on the internet, and after a few hours of research I collected all the necessary information I needed.

Modelling

I used 3ds Max to create this image. I began by taking a look at the gathered pictures and thinking about spiders in general. Spiders usually have eight legs and a body consisting of just a few parts. However, I decided to make a six-legged spider, simply because I wanted to get a more rounded form to the insect and I felt that eight legs would have been too much.

I started work by modelling one of the spider's main joints. Modelling was very simple: I used simple shapes such as lines, circles, ellipses, etc., and connected, cut and extruded them to achieve the results I was looking for (Fig.01 - 03). I built up layer after layer of small details - screws, cogs, wheels, etc. - and connected them in a general form (Fig.04 - 05).

Fig. 01

Fig. 02

Fig. 03

Fig. 04

Fig. 05

Moving upwards I created new details for the leg, using the shapes already established and Editable Poly in some places where necessary. To make the foundation of the leg much bigger and stronger, I created some kind of armour for it Fig.06 - 07).